Pictures of setups

[TheDucks]

21 minutes ago, 51phiveoh said:

Hi Tim....I am not even close to buying anything yet.  Still learning as much as I can before I "take the leap" and get dragged in above my head and want to just throw it all away.  All the information here is what I wasn't finding reading each forum post.  I assumed based on the drawings of LOR that the computer hooked up right to the control boxes that had all those female outlets and you ran your cords from there to your lights. Didn't realize that you are actually running Cat 5 from your box out to the control boxes by each set of lights...so it's painting a little better of a picture of how to design my layout...Will see if I can do something with the profile.

The only LOR Lights that get CAT5 are the 50W floods. Those have their own controllers. All the rest are controllers for the type of lights attached.  CAT5 is for commands, not power or lights

[MichRX7]

3 hours ago, 51phiveoh said:

Those are awesome.  Thanks.  

I think I'm getting hung up with all this stuff about LEDS and Individually assigned LED's and thinking that to make a decent show you need to have lights and strips that are individually assigned.  I think running dumb lights is more than enough for me.

My show last year was 100% string lights (LED not incandescent) that I bought at Walmart. They are the easiest to learn and I like them. This year I am adding dumb RGB strips which just means that instead of having a string of green lights somewhere I have a strip of colored pixels that I can change the color of the entire string to whatever color I can mix using settings for red, green and blue (as an example, 100% red, 0% green and 100% blue make purple). But for years I have run just those simple string lights strung ways I like them. Thinking of adding the smart pixels next year which means that instead of having to change the entire strip the same color each "light" on the string can be set individually.

Good luck! It is a hard habit to break once you get started (not that I want to).

[MichRX7]

15 hours ago, tlogan said:

Right, those dumb lights were my first foray into LOR 2 years ago. The first year is a killer...last year I was able to get those up in a couple of hours.

Agreed, this is why I started building everything as props. Take them down, and store them in the back shed. Then set them up and plug them in. The only thing I have left that isn't a prop are my house poles (and the tree though I consider that a prop, just can't cut the tree down and put it in the shed). So much faster, so much easier. I even bought out the short cheap artificial trees at Walmart at the end of one season for around $10 each so I could wrap the lights around them, stick them in the shed and be done until I pull it all out the next year.

[tlogan]

I ran one of those 6 channel Mr. Christmas type setups with incans for a number of years running big heavy extension cords and figuring out how to make 6 channels look like many more across the side and front of the house. I found that you can really only focus on one area at a time, so if you were looking at the side ,you didn't really notice what was happening in the front. And if lights went from left to right in one area and right to left in another, it didn't look the same. And then mix some up, it was still in time with the music for that particular area.

So, my big secret with the new props for this year is that I just copied the sequences from existing props that are on the left side of the house over to the new props that will be on the front far right side of the house. You can't even see the first side from there. 

[tlogan]

1 hour ago, MichRX7 said:

Agreed, this is why I started building everything as props. Take them down, and store them in the back shed. Then set them up and plug them in. The only thing I have left that isn't a prop are my house poles (and the tree though I consider that a prop, just can't cut the tree down and put it in the shed). So much faster, so much easier. I even bought out the short cheap artificial trees at Walmart at the end of one season for around $10 each so I could wrap the lights around them, stick them in the shed and be done until I pull it all out the next year.

I'm moving in that direction. Although I still have two trees I like to get some height with and a lot of bushes. I do run a string of Icicles over the garage (because it's easy to reach with a step ladder) and this year I'm adding a string of smart bulbs to it. And probably a second string of smart bulbs around the front door because it's pretty easy to get to, too.  

[Little_b]

Here's mine from 5 years ago.  Not to much has changed with the AC Controllers, but I've added quite a few DC since then.  I started making a new video last year, but haven't gotten very far on the editing yet.  I agree with others, a box of Cat5e is a whole lot cheaper than extension cords.  Plus my garage is on the other side of my yard which means all the cords would lay across the walk to the front door.  I try and hide the controllers the best I can in places that are a bit more difficult to get to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5i2F72IyBY

 

[PJD]

My husband and I have split up the responsibility for our show - I do software (mostly) and he does hardware (mostly).  Therefore, I don't necessarily know all the details of our setup, but I can give you a broad outline.  We have a wide lot (3 "city lots" in our suburban town) with the house in the middle.  Our lot is 180'x100'.  There is a stand alone garage to the West of the house. 

For years, we have run a "regular" AC only show.  All our original controllers are CTB16PC type.  There are 4 under the porch that feed the 4 faces (monsters or xmas trees) and other props near the front of the house and over to the east side.  There are 2 in the garage that handle lights on the garage and the west side. There is 1 in the gazebo behind our house which handles anything near the back of the lot.  

The computer is in the house and talks to the controllers with ELL (Easy Light Linker) so there are no cables between the computer and the controllers.

This year, we are adding pixels.  We have added 2 pixel trees that were up and running for Halloween.  We are using E1.31 for the pixels and AlphaPix controllers rather than LOR.  I'm finding the E1.31 easy to configure.  Pixels cannot really be run wireless - just too much data and WiFi protocols aren't really designed for this type of thing.  We have a small network switch by the computer.  We have Cat5 cables from there to each of the pixel trees.  Since the Pixel trees were a success, my husband has decided he wants to cover the gazebo in pixels also this year.  After days of researching and deliberating, he decided to get more AlphaPix controllers for that. 

The Pixel Trees each use an Alphapix16, but he is going with 3 Alphapix4 controllers for the gazebo.  1 will have a string of C9 bulbs (100 pixels) and 3 sets of snowflakes (108 pixels each).  The other 2 controllers will handle the Pixel Icicles.  There are 8 segments each with 100 pixels, so 4 will be on one controller and the other 4 will be on the other controller.  The switch from the house will connect to a switch in the gazebo.  That switch will connect to the 3 new controllers.  I believe he intends to get this setup this weekend, so we will find out then if it works as planned!

I guess our setup is semi-distributed?  We still run some pretty long extension cords from the controllers, but they are shorter than they would be if we tried to have them all in one place.

Based on our experience, I would suggest starting with a "simple" AC show with regular LED lights.  Once you have that down and are comfortable with it, then move on to pixels.  I would also echo the advise to start with the S5 version of the software - I started really working on our show this past year.  I jumped right into S5 without knowing much about how the earlier versions worked and I found it to be pretty straightforward and easy to learn.  Based on posts here on the boards, it is much more difficult to come from the earlier versions and have to change how you think about things.

PJD

[default]

I built a storage box to hold all my USB-RSB485 adapters and made it so I can put the show laptop on top and plug the USB's into it. Other the 2 controllers visible in the pictures all other controllers are mounted on the props with the network cables all run back to the control box. Pictures in the thread below.

 

Alan...

[dibblejr]

1 hour ago, default said:

I built a storage box to hold all my USB-RSB485 adapters and made it so I can put the show laptop on top and plug the USB's into it. Other the 2 controllers visible in the pictures all other controllers are mounted on the props with the network cables all run back to the control box. Pictures in the thread below.

 

Alan...

I remember that thread. Up to 13/14 nw's this year. The more I attempt to consolidate the more stuff I add to the show. Ive had roof lights on every night since HAlloween and didn't even know it. Forgot when I turned off the lightshow power panel that 8 controllers are in the attic on the house main panel.

JR

[Dglass4321]

I have an old laptop computer that is dedicated to my light show.  It is located in our bedroom on the second floor, it faces the street and has a deck.  The speakers are on the deck.  My eleven controllers are down at street level located nearest the props they control.  I have them in three locations mounted on racks I built.  One is on the other side of the driveway.  I run the cat5 cable overhead wired to a braided wire strung from a deck rail to a tree on that side of the driveway.   What gets dicey for me is all the extension cords; there are hundreds of them.  I’ve created a couple of cord bundles for the windows that work pretty well but I’m thinking about building new ones from STP wire and vampire plugs/outlets.  I’m making a light tunnel this year with 96 strings of light on 48 circuits.  I decided to make cord bundles for it, they were easy to make and seem a little more organized than the massive pile of cords strung out around my other props.  Anyone have any ideas on this?  

[ItsMeBobO]

Bundles of wire from SPT and vampire plugs is the way to go.   I used to have the various sizes of extension cords 3 6 9 12 15 foot and organize and inventory them so I could find a 9 foot when I needed one.   The bundles are much better.  Be sure to label them.  A year in the shed makes it easy to forget which is for what.     Since going to pixels the need for these is going down.

[jfuller8400]

I agree - distributed is the way to go.  I've got 39 total controllers (9 - CMB24D's and 30 CBT16's).  Show computer and transmitter live inside my garage.  

Here's a link to a time-lapse setup video I did back in 2017 that shows where I put my controllers in relation to their props.

8400 Lights - 2017 Time Lapse Setup Video

I might do a behind-the-scenes video this year if the weather cooperates.

[dibblejr]

4 hours ago, ItsMeBobO said:

Bundles of wire from SPT and vampire plugs is the way to go.   I used to have the various sizes of extension cords 3 6 9 12 15 foot and organize and inventory them so I could find a 9 foot when I needed one.   The bundles are much better.  Be sure to label them.  A year in the shed makes it easy to forget which is for what.     Since going to pixels the need for these is going down.

Bundles are great until you start moving and or adding props.

Also I use zip ties and sliding those through my delicate hands is rough.

But I still bundle except for a few stragglers.

All of my props are getting closer to being pixels. All I have left non pixel - 30 singing faces. Mega tree and mini trees. The wife loves them but the mega tree is killing me.

JR

[ItsMeBobO]

Oh yeah     Those sharp edges on zip tie tails can really hurt you.     This year I planted some props further apart than before  and now several of the wire bundles are a few inches short.. I hate that

[Little_b]

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 10:50 AM, ItsMeBobO said:

Be sure to label them.  A year in the shed makes it easy to forget which is for what. 

Labeling everything has drastically decreased the amount of time it takes to set things up.  When I don't label something and put it away, the biggest lie I tell myself is "I'll remember what that went to the next time I use it."  Most my cords are bundled in groups of 3 since I use Red, Green, and White strands.  I have put a piece of colored (red, green, or white) electrical tape near each end of each cord to make plugging the right color strand of lights to the correct output. 

[Dcroc]

Am I the only one that is God awful at cable management?  There is a about 2 miles of spt 2 extention cords, cat 5, and such, ruinning through my yard.   If anyone were to randomly walk across my lawn, they would tangle up, rip things out, and end up on their a#$.    The only real way to organize it would be to spend hundreds more, on top of the hundreds I have already spent, to get more extention cords, and wire/cables, to make things long enough to route into a somewhat tidy snake, or at least a few snakes.   I was a professional musican for years, and always had the tidiest cable management in my racks, and boards, but this......I really admire those that keep things so neat, and buttoned up, but I just don't see me ever getting there.  

Edited November 28, 2019 by Dcroc

[MichRX7]

26 minutes ago, Dcroc said:

Am I the only one that is God awful at cable management?  There is a about 2 miles of spt 2 extention cords, cat 5, and such, ruinning through my yard.   If anyone were to randomly walk across my lawn, they would tangle up, rip things out, and end up on their a#$.    The only real way to organize it would be to spend hundreds more, on top of the hundreds I have already spent, to get more extention cords, and wire/cables, to make things long enough to route into a somewhat tidy snake, or at least a few snakes.   I was a professional musican for years, and always had the tidiest cable management in my racks, and boards, but this......I really admire those that keep things so neat, and buttoned up, but I just don't see me ever getting there.  

Hahaha, I know the feeling. My front porch looks like a plate of spaghetti. And the extension cords are even orange. Next big sale I'm buying a ton of spt-1 and vampire plugs. 

My wife is going to be peeved. 

[k6ccc]

33 minutes ago, Dcroc said:

Am I the only one that is God awful at cable management?  There is a about 2 miles of spt 2 extention cords, cat 5, and such, ruinning through my yard.   If anyone were to randomly walk across my lawn, they would tangle up, rip things out, and end up on their a#$.    The only real way to organize it would be to spend hundreds more, on top of the hundreds I have already spent, to get more extention cords, and wire/cables, to make things long enough to route into a somewhat tidy snake, or at least a few snakes.   I was a professional musican for years, and always had the tidiest cable management in my racks, and boards, but this......I really admire those that keep things so neat, and buttoned up, but I just don't see me ever getting there.  

I'm going to make you feel bad.  Here is a complete list of wires that are running across the front yard:

1 piece of cat-5 that plugs into a box along a wall, and crosses about 4 feet of lawn to my arches, then along the arches to the three CCP controllers.

1 piece of SPT-1 that plugs into an outlet on the front of the house and crosses 15 feet of lawn to the arches, then along the arches to the three CCP controllers.

1 16AWG green extension cord that crosses 45 feet of lawn from an outlet in the yard to a CTB16 behind my singing faces.

1 16AWG blue extension cord that crosses about 10 feet of lawn from an outlet on the front of the hose to my pixel tree.

There are two pieces of cat-5 to the pixel tree, but they are overhead (from the roof to the top of the tree.

That's it!  One huge advantage of being almost all pixels.  All the year round landscape lighting stuff is in underground conduit.

 

[Dcroc]

12 hours ago, MichRX7 said:

Hahaha, I know the feeling. My front porch looks like a plate of spaghetti. And the extension cords are even orange. Next big sale I'm buying a ton of spt-1 and vampire plugs. 

My wife is going to be peeved. 

I didn't see any real savings in buying the wire, and plugs, over off the shelf extention cords.  Howevr, I am starting to understand how it could clean up some of the mess. "Spaghetti" is the perfect word!

[Dcroc]

12 hours ago, k6ccc said:

I'm going to make you feel bad.  Here is a complete list of wires that are running across the front yard:

1 piece of cat-5 that plugs into a box along a wall, and crosses about 4 feet of lawn to my arches, then along the arches to the three CCP controllers.

1 piece of SPT-1 that plugs into an outlet on the front of the house and crosses 15 feet of lawn to the arches, then along the arches to the three CCP controllers.

1 16AWG green extension cord that crosses 45 feet of lawn from an outlet in the yard to a CTB16 behind my singing faces.

1 16AWG blue extension cord that crosses about 10 feet of lawn from an outlet on the front of the hose to my pixel tree.

There are two pieces of cat-5 to the pixel tree, but they are overhead (from the roof to the top of the tree.

That's it!  One huge advantage of being almost all pixels.  All the year round landscape lighting stuff is in underground conduit.

 

I actually have a lot of pixels.   I still end up using 8 AC controllers.   I would love to lose the blowmold,  LED mega tree,  and whatever other old school props I use, but the wife simply will not let go.  What I need to do is make her think I like the old school props,  and then she will not want them used anymore.😁

Edited November 28, 2019 by Dcroc